(Reuters) – Bank of America is about to award stock to most of its global employees for the eighth time since 2017, following a strong performance by the second-largest U.S. lender in 2024, in response to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday.
The stock awards, which shall be issued along with year-end incentive awards, can be granted to employees earning an annual total compensation of as much as $500,000, covering about 97% of the lender’s global workforce.
BofA had 213,193 staff at the top of 2024, which implies the stock awards will amount to barely over $1 billion.
Earlier this week, BofA’s fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, boosted by trading activity. The lender also predicted it could earn higher interest income for 2025.
For the complete yr of 2024, the banking giant’s revenue surpassed $100 billion, driven by strong growth in fee income, and its profit got here in at $27.1 billion.
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“Every income increased, and we saw higher than industry growth in deposits and loans,” BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said in an earnings release. “We imagine this broad momentum sets up 2025 thoroughly.”
Wall Street CEOs also voiced confidence that the incoming U.S. administration would maintain a business-friendly environment helpful to banks. This comes because the country’s top lenders report a surge in profits, driven by an uptick in dealmaking and trading activities.
Bankers expect global deal volumes to surpass $4 trillion in 2025, the very best level in 4 years.
The broader operating environment has been favorable for the banking industry, propelled by strong equity markets and analysts’ expectations that President-elect Donald Trump will implement a deregulatory and lower-tax agenda.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing a source, that BofA’s bonus pool for investment bankers will probably rise 10% for the previous yr.
The bank’s stock surged 30.5% in 2024, outperforming the broader equity markets.
Stock awards are typically issued to reward employees, retain top talent, and align their interests with the corporate’s long-term success.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in Recent York; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Diane Craft)